


Understanding, One Fight at a Time

by sushilushy



Series: Fire Emblem Fates [6]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Differing Opinions, F/M, Friendship, arguing with friends, is this really romance, it's probably not romance, not romance but they do care for each other, takumi hates nohr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 04:00:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16779190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sushilushy/pseuds/sushilushy
Summary: After an archery lesson, Kamui and Takumi suddenly find themselves in an argument. He's too stubborn to change his views on Nohr, and she's too idealistic in the face of war. Is their fledgling friendship strong enough to withstand the strain?Set in Revelations with minor spoilers, between Mokushu and Frozen Sea. Meant to be read after "Daughter of an Accidental Jester" in the same collection, but it's not necessary reading, haha. That just means this is post this pair's A-rank support conversation.





	Understanding, One Fight at a Time

**Author's Note:**

> It seems our pineapple prince and dragon princess are finally close enough to fight! *chants* FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! 
> 
> All jokes aside, I imagine Kamui as consciously avoiding any mention of Nohr in front of Takumi at this point in time. They've only just started accepting each other, after all. But the fact that it's slipped out probably means she felt comfortable enough around him to make a mistake.

In the orange glow of late afternoon, two people simultaneously lowered their bows and bowed to each other. One was a young man with a willowy build. His facial features were delicate enough to be called beautiful, though in the presence of his sharp eyes and proud carriage, nobody would be foolish enough to say so. His companion was less proud, but she had the air of a self-assured person. Her deceptively slender physique belied a certain live energy in her movements. A pair of red eyes and pale, silvery hair lent her an ephemeral beauty that was both entrancing and discomfiting all at once. Rather, her strange and shocking coloration made her seem like an otherworldly creature at times. The rest of her looked human enough.

"Good work today," Prince Takumi remarked. He was obliged to say so due to his good breeding, but he meant it.

Princess Kamui, his companion, grinned earnestly. There was a child-like quality to the way her red eyes shone. "Good work today, as usual. You know, I think I'll be able to start hitting targets soon! I was very close this time. Do you suppose it's possible for me to one day shoot leaves out of the air, like Saizo does?" She squinted at the sky.

One of Prince Ryoma's retainers, the stoic ninja Saizo, had recently tried to intimidate Kamui by demonstrating his skill in throwing ninja weapons. Although she received the overall message, the princess had been so impressed that she had forgotten to be scared. (Saizo's cautious surveillance continued.)

"Hmph. We'll see. That's a waste of arrows, and you have a long way to go," Takumi said, throwing a clean towel over Kamui's face.

"Hey!" She struggled to get out for a moment, like a child who'd been swallowed by a collapsed blanket fort. Takumi smirked; at times like these, it was funny for him to think that this woman was a lethal force in battle. Kamui indignantly pulled the towel off her head. She noticed the smirk. "What's so funny about watching me suffer?"

"Nothing."

"This is why I still can't think of you as my brother. Xander would never do such a thing. Do you bully all your sisters this way?" She grumbled, while fixing her hair.

He bristled at the comparison. "No, but since you're so eager to compare me to those disgusting Nohrians… go ahead and think of it as a little Hoshidan hospitality."

Kamui worried her bottom lip and glanced at him. Her eyebrows pushed downwards, deepening the shadow on her upper eyelid. Despite her clear disapproval, she said nothing. Takumi sighed audibly.

"If you have something to say, then say it!"

She swallowed uncomfortably before beginning. "Not everyone from Nohr is--"

"Not everyone from Nohr is scum? Disgusting? Violent? I'll believe it when I see it."

_Don't interrupt me if you're the one who told me to say something!_ Kamui's grip on the towel tightened. The nail of her index finger pressed into her thumb, where it left a crescent-shaped imprint. "How can you say that about people you've never met?"

He tossed his head proudly. "I've met enough of them on the battlefield. I even met one of Garon's sniveling retainers in Izumo. You were planning to spare him."

"Have you ever thought about life outside of Hoshido? Have you ever thought about _why_ so many people can only find military-related work? People have their own circumstances, you know. As a prince, you should understand that." Her voice was still relatively calm, but she made a point of establishing direct eye contact, as if she was challenging him to respond.

Takumi crossed his arms. He was a good head taller than Kamui, and this exaggerated the imperiousness of his downward gaze. "Did you ever see them yourself, or is that another lie you grew up on? You're too gullible. Either way, Nohr has no right to invade."

Kamui's cheeks suddenly flushed. "I might be sheltered, but all I had to do was look outside my window to know it was true. Look at those trees!" She pointed at the desolate grove of Nohrian trees in the distance, which were just visible from the archery range. "They did their best to survive in a dark land filled with barren soil, and I love them for it! Nohr's people are the same way. They include so many kind, hard-working people--if, if you'd just talked to them, you'd know that," she declared fiercely.

Takumi narrowed his eyes and looked away. "Of course they were kind to you. You're a princess," he muttered. It wasn't until he was met with extended silence that he realized he'd gone too far. Kamui was sitting down and unstringing her yumi. Her chest felt tight, and she took short, shallow breaths. Her lips were pressed into a taut line. It was difficult to tell if she was determined to say nothing, or afraid to say anything.

"Hey…You're too soft, Kamui. This is war. Don't forget that." Takumi's voice had lost its hard edge. It took on a more subdued, conciliatory tone, although it was still a far cry from an apology. After all, he reasoned, he hadn't been _wrong_. He uncrossed and crossed his arms restlessly.

It was some time before Kamui spoke. She was ashamed of how easily her temper had bested her. Even more so, she was ashamed of how close she had been from bursting into angry tears. She chose her words carefully.

"I… know I'm soft. Some would even say foolish. It's true, I haven't seen as much of the world as I should have." Kamui pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Even so, I think…when you hate too easily, war becomes easier, but then what? Peace is harder. War returns. I don't want that," she said, "And Nohr isn't the enemy. I've made my decision. There's something greater than either country at work, and I need to make everyone understand. Even you."

Something inside Takumi relented.

"Hey, I still don't understand after months of this, but at least I trust you, even if you're mostly wrong," he said, sitting down across from her. He began to polish his Fujin Yumi.

"Mostly wrong?! You make it sound like getting you to trust me was easy. It was a process," Kamui complained, but her eyes smiled.

"It was a process," Takumi agreed.

**Author's Note:**

> Dialogue is difficult to write in story form...
> 
> I originally intended to have Kamui invite Takumi to a local hot springs inn for a short stay together with Azura. The reasoning was that she wanted Takumi and Azura to become friends, and it was a good opportunity to do so while everyone waited for the ferry. The whole visit was written. It just needed a reason to exist.
> 
> So of course, what do Kamui and Takumi do instead? Have a fight over what was originally nothing. (*facepalm* This idiot pair. This idiot pair!!) And the more and more I wrote, the angrier and angrier the argument became. I guess they just had a lot of feelings about the subject. What surprised me even more was that Takumi, not Kamui, was winning the argument, AND our pineapple boy was the one to try and make up first! Kamui! What are you doing! You were supposed to be the more mature one! Oh, my frustration.
> 
> Eventually, I just let go and let them do as they wished. After all, this was a conversation they were fated to have (pun intended, wink wink), in my opinion.
> 
> That hot springs story will just have to wait a while longer. Please feel free to leave any thoughts you have below. I do read the comments, I'm just too shy to reply to them...


End file.
